United StatesHawaii native Julian Roberts played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026 . He represented the NOLA Gold (2024-2025) and Anthem RC (2026).
Born in Hawaii, Roberts attended high school in Kentucky before joining Life University in 2018, playing with their impressive rugby program during his time with the Running Eagles. Upon his graduation, Roberts declared for the 2023 MLR Collegiate Draft and was drafted in the 1st Round, 6th overall by the NOLA Gold who signed him ahead of the 2024 campaign. In his rookie MLR season, Roberts scored 2 tries in 11 games (4 starts) and gained over 350m with ball in hand as the Gold qualified for the playoffs for the first time in club history, eventually falling 21-45 to the Chicago Hounds. For his efforts, Roberts was named as the NOLA Gold Rookie of the Year for 2024.
On January 4th, 2025, the NOLA Gold announced the return of Julian Roberts for his sophomore season in 2025 where he was a standout. He started all 10 of his games for the Gold, scoring 4 tries and more than doubling his metres gained total from 353m in 2024 to 740m in 2025. Roberts even double his tackle total from 18 to 36 as a winger. Following the withdrawal of the NOLA Gold from MLR in August 2025, Julian Roberts became a free agent and on 1st December 2025, Anthem RC announced that they had signed him for their 2026 campaign.
Roberts started all 10 games for Anthem RC during the 2026 season, and was deployed all over the back line from winger to fullback to centre, rarely playing in the same position for two games in a row. He scored 2 tries for the Rising Stars, also contributing six try assists. He beat a very impressive 35 defenders and was one of the top metre eaters in MLR that season with 578m gained in possession as well as almost 50 tackles made on defence. Roberts recorded an impressive 2026 season despite Anthem’s 2-8 record, and was included in the USA squad for the 2026 Nations Cup competition in July, where he earned his debut as Eagle #601 in a hard-fought 30-29 victory over Portugal.